Federal information policy: Protecting the free flow of information

Federal information policy is a tangled web, woven over many decades and one which tends to trap information, rather than making it easily available. Although some of the difficulty has been caused by a lack of coherence and by some confusion among members of the Congress, the principal difficulty recently has been the lack of trust exhibited by the Reagan administration. If the United States is to regain its economic and technological health, a well-thought-out and administered Federal information policy will be the cornerstone to those ends. An informed electorate can help by assisting Congress with ideas regarding needs, both present and future. Together with an informed administration, we can, and must, create the Federal information policy that meets all our needs without jeopardizing our national security.     

Federal information: Foundation for national competitiveness

The National Technical Information Service functions as a cornerstone for the Federal technological publishing structure in the United States. It is a key participant in the development of those information processes that are helping, in part, to support U.S. productivity and industrial innovation. NTIS, which recognizes the relationship between information and competiveness, links the end products of information producers to those who need them. Many complicated issues confront all of us, in terms of sharing information for greater national competitiveness. For example, what steps can be taken to ensure and improve the use of government generated scientific and technical knowledge, how can NTIS better serve more government sources and customers, and what are the implications of recent government policies in terms of technology transfer? This article explores these and related issues.     

Federal information resources management: New challenges for the nineties

Information resources management (IRM), introduced two decades ago in 1974, emerged in the 1980s as a key organizing framework for U.S. Federal information policy and management practices. IRM in the 1990s must deal with a fundamental shift in focus from efficient internal management of paper-based information delivery systems to effective management of a externally targeted, digitally networked, interactive, exchange of information and services with citizens. This changed context will bring both new opportunities and challenges. This article identifies critical success factors that IRM must address and offers recommendations for how best to meet these challenges and opportunities based on discussions with senior IRM leaders.     

Federal freedom of information policy: Highlights of recent developments

For the Federal government of the United States, freedom of information policy is expressed in statutory law — the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted in 1966, being the first such expression in this regard. Other transparency laws would follow. The FOIA, however, was legislated in the face of considerable opposition by the executive branch. No department or agency supported the legislation, and the President signed it into law with no small amount of reluctance. This climate of opinion resulted in a hostile environment for the initial administration of the statute. To maintain faithful administration of the FOIA and to preserve its purpose, congressional committees found it necessary to conduct vigorous oversight of its implementation and, on occasion, to take remedial action by amending its provisions. Those amendments are reviewed here, the most recent development occurring in the closing days of 2007. Related legislative activities during the 110th Congress (2007–2008) are also examined, as well.     

Federal subventionary activities: Policy issues and information sources

Federal funding, a complex, multi-billion dollar enterprise, comprises many activities and forms, and is ineluctably influenced by political issues and national polity. Following a history of federal funding and a typology of research and development (R&D) programs, the article examines sources of information, the role of national laboratories in nuclear weapons research, the relationship between defense grants and university standards, and problems of accountability, duplication, and trivialization of subject matter. Implicit in these examples is the thesis that no realistic analysis of federally sponsored research is possible unless examined in the larger ideological and intellectual ambience in which R&D is allocated.     

STI and government information in the Federal Republic of Germany

About 37% of the funds spent in 1987 for research in the Federal Republic of Germany result from government sources. The Federal government's overall annual budget alone totals $291 billion per year (1989). This makes the government sector an important generator, distributor, and consumer of scientific, technical, and government specific information. This article describes the role of the government in this context and discusses important government policy issues.     

Federal restrictions on the free flow of academic information and ideas

The free flow of academic information and ideas is essential to the operation of universities in the United States. Recent actions by some agencies of the federal government threaten to erode academic freedom by imposing requirements of prepublication review on government sponsored university research, restricting the access of foreign scholars to U.S. classrooms and laboratories, authorizing the secret classification of research projects after the research has been undertaken, and limiting the dissemination of sensitive but unclassified research information through a system of export controls. These regulatory policies tend to inhibit scientific innovation and intellectual exchange, and should be reconsidered before they do serious damage to important national interests.     

Federal government information policy and public policy analysis: A brief overview

The information policy of the federal government of the United States has been evolving for well over 200 years, with antecedents in the British, colonial, and Confederation experiences. Having a variety of themes, (e.g., accountability, records management, accessibility, security, and privacy), it is a policy of complexity, both in terms of interrelationships among its themes and political dynamics, which is to acknowledge that all three branches have contributed to its substance, and that balance among competing forces has been neither easily realized nor maintained. Moreover, it concerns values of particular importance for a democracy, such as realizing a government that is accountable to the citizenry and protects the security of the nation. It continues to evolve, adjust, and change due to a variety of factors, new political environments and information technology being among the foremost. Policy analysis, discussed here in several dimensions, may be applied to understand not only information policy of the past and the present, but also what might be modified, adjusted, or created anew for the future. Ultimately, in all instances of policy analysis application, the end result, hopefully, will be more informed decision making.     

Federal environmental impact statements as an important source of information

This article examines the background and characteristics of environmental impact statements (EIS), prepared by Federal agencies in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and discusses the sources that provide bibliographic control for EISs. In order to encourage awareness of the studies, the article explores their usefulness beyond their original function, outlines the legislative basis for EISs, describes the EIS process and format, and identifies government and private sector sources that facilitate access to them. A table listing the sources suggests alternatives for locating and acquiring the studies.     

The view of the industrial scientist concerning the information system

Considers how the needs of industry for STM information differ from academic needs, with particular regard to end–user access, networks, security, and costs.     

图书馆网络信息系统建设

图书馆网络信息系统是一个包涵网络通信设施，多种计算机管理和应用软件。数字化信息资源的信息管理模式，建设图书馆网络信息系统需要较多的资金投入，中小型图书馆由于经费等条件制约，一般需分步骤建立。浙江财经学院图书馆经过两年多时间的建设，建立了经济实用又较为先进的网络信息系统，章论述了该馆在网络软硬件，网络资源，网站建设等有关网络信息系统建设方面的情况。     

The role of the information service of an organization in introducing a corporate information system

This paper considers the stages of introducing corporate information systems, barriers that arise on the path to their introduction, and the role of information services of organizations in overcoming these barriers.